(Credit: ALFERINK ARTISTS MANAGEMENT)

Dutch bass singer Jaco Huijpen passed away on Sept. 13, 2019, as confirmed by Alferink Artists Management.

Well-regarded throughout the Netherlands and Germany, Huijpen made his operatic debut in the 1980s after finishing his studies in Amsterdam and Hilversum. He served in the ensemble at the Musiktheater im Revier in Gelsenkirchen, with the Gartnerplatz theater in Munich, going on to represent the Netherlands in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

Huijpen was known for roles such as Klingsor in “Parsifal,” Ramfis in “Aida,” Osmin in “Die Entfuhring aus dem Serail,” and Kaspar in “Der Freischutz.” Singing mostly with the Dutch National Opera and the Dutch Reisopera, Huijpen also performed with the Komische Oper Berlin, the Staatsoper Belin, the Oper Frankfurt, and the Opéra national de Paris.

Huijpen’s manager, Theo van den Bogaard, said, “In the 20 years that I have been an agent, Jaco was among the top 10 internationally most successful opera singers from the Netherlands. He has risen to great heights and that makes me very happy for him. I know for sure that he was very happy when he was on top and also enjoyed his life as an opera singer… I had an incredible amount of fun with Jaco who was a great storyteller and had countless happy moments when he was full of careers. My thoughts are with the relatives of Jaco.”

Here is a clip of bass in “Carmen” as Zuniga.